Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to tread out the grain, But I will come over her fair neck with a heavy yoke [for hard field work]. I will harness Ephraim; Judah will plow and Jacob will harrow and rake for himself.

Ephraim indeed is a heifer broken in and loving to tread out the grain, but I have [heretofore] spared the beauty of her fair neck. I will now set a rider upon Ephraim and make him to draw; Judah shall plow and Jacob shall break his clods.

“Ephraim is like a trained young cow that loves to walk on grain on the threshing floor. I will put a good yoke on her neck. I will put the ropes on Ephraim. Then Judah will begin plowing. Jacob will break the ground himself.”

·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17] is like a well-trained ·young cow [heifer] that likes to thresh grain. I will put a ·yoke [or a fine yoke] on her ·neck [or fair neck] and ·make her work hard in the field [drive Ephraim hard]. Israel will plow, and Judah will break up the ground.

“Israel was once like a well-trained young cow, ready and willing to thresh grain. But I decided to put a yoke on her beautiful neck and to harness her for harder work. I made Judah pull the plow and Israel pull the harrow.

“Ephraim is accustomed to treading out the grain—an easy job she loves. I have never put her under a heavy yoke before; I have spared her tender neck. But now I will harness her to the plow and harrow. Her days of ease are gone.

Ephraim was a trained heifer that loved to thresh. Passing by and seeing her strong, sleek neck, I wanted to harness Ephraim, Put Ephraim to work in the fields— Judah plowing, Jacob harrowing: Sow righteousness, reap love. It’s time to till the ready earth, it’s time to dig in with God, Until he arrives with righteousness ripe for harvest. But instead you plowed wicked ways, reaped a crop of evil and ate a salad of lies. You thought you could do it all on your own, flush with weapons and manpower. But the volcano of war will erupt among your people. All your defense posts will be leveled As viciously as king Shalman leveled the town of Beth-arba, When mothers and their babies were smashed on the rocks. That’s what’s ahead for you, you so-called people of God, because of your off-the-charts evil. Some morning you’re going to wake up and find Israel, king and kingdom, a blank—nothing.

Ephraim was like a well-trained young cow. It loved to thresh grain. So I will put a yoke on its pretty neck. I will make Ephraim do hard work. Judah also must plow. So all the people of Jacob must break up the ground.

“Israel is like a trained heifer treading out the grain— an easy job she loves. But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck. I will force Judah to pull the plow and Israel to break up the hard ground.

And Ephrayim is an eglah melummadah (a trained heifer), and loveth to tread out the grain; but I will put a yoke on her fair neck; I will drive Ephrayim; Yehudah shall plow, and Ya’akov shall break his clods.

Ephraim is a cow calf, taught for to love threshing; and I went on the fairness of the neck thereof. I shall go upon Ephraim. Judah shall ear, and Jacob shall break furrows to himself. (Ephraim is a cow calf, taught to love threshing; and I put a yoke upon its comely neck. And I shall go upon, or I shall drive, Ephraim. Yea, Judah shall plow, and Jacob, or Israel, shall break the furrows for themselves.)

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